Pa. antlerless deer license sales double last year's pace as 2nd round nears

The second round of 2023-24 antlerless deer license sales begins at 8 a.m. Monday as the Pennsylvania Game Commission tries to catch up with a huge increase in the number of permits sold during the first round.

The agency is allowing antlerless deer licenses to be purchased anywhere hunting licenses are sold and online at huntfish.pa.gov.

The new process for getting antlerless licenses was made possible by Senate Bill 431. Hunters previously applied for each license by mail, sending pink envelopes to county treasurers, the only entity that was allowed to sell them. The change increased convenience and choices for hunters of how and where to buy their license.

Hunters using the online process June 26, the first day for online sales, were met with long wait times.

“It goes to show just how important hunting is in the lives of so many Pennsylvanians, and how committed hunters are to their pursuit,” Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans said in a statement.

Hunters can keep an eye on the number of licenses available in their preferred area of the state at huntfish.pa.gov under the Antlerless Deer Quota section. Thousands of licenses remain for most of the wildlife management areas.

Licenses are sold out in 2G, which encompasses parts of Elk, McKean, Potter, Clearfield and neighboring counties in Northcentral Pennsylvania. A few hundred remain in 1B near Erie, along the northcentral border with New York, and in 3A and 4C, which is in the Schuylkill area.

Antlerless license sales are up by more than 99% compared to the same time in 2022, which is causing some delays in getting them mailed to online buyers, according to agency officials. More than 480,000 antlerless licenses have been sold since June 26.

Anyone who already bought an antlerless license is eligible to purchase another during the second round of sales. A person who hasn’t puchased one is eligible for two.

The third round of license sales will begin at 8 a.m. Aug. 14. That’s when permits will be issued for deer management assistance program land.

A fourth round will start at 8 a.m. Aug. 28. Hunters will be able to buy additional antlerless licenses until hitting the limit of six unfilled licenses.